By The Extinction Protocol.

Today, the Ebola virus spreads only through direct contact with bodily fluids, such as blood and vomit. But some of the nation’s top infectious disease experts worry that this deadly virus could mutate and be transmitted just by a cough or a sneeze. “It’s the single greatest concern I’ve ever had in my 40-year public health career,” said Dr. Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. “I can’t imagine anything in my career — and this includes HIV — that would be more devastating to the world than a respiratory transmissible Ebola virus.” Osterholm and other experts couldn’t think of another virus that has made the transition from non-airborne to airborne in humans. They say the chances are relatively small that Ebola will make that jump. But as the virus spreads, they warned, the likelihood increases. Every time a new person gets Ebola, the virus gets another chance to mutate and develop new capabilities. Osterholm calls it “genetic roulette.” As of Friday, there have been 4,784 cases of Ebola, with 2,400 deaths, according to the World Health Organization, which says the virus is spreading at a much faster rate now than it was earlier in the outbreak.

Ebola is an RNA virus, which means every time it copies itself; it makes one or two mutations. Many of those mutations mean nothing, but some of them might be able to change the way the virus behaves inside the human body. “Imagine every time you copy an essay, you change a word or two. Eventually, it’s going to change the meaning of the essay,” said Dr. C.J. Peters, one of the heroes featured in “The Hot Zone.” That book chronicles the 1989 outbreak of Ebola Reston, which was transmitted among monkeys by breathing. In 2012, Canadian researchers found that Ebola Zaire, which is involved in the current outbreak, was passed from pigs to monkeys in the air…

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Photo Credit: APOXFORD STUDY: 15 CURRENTLY UNCONTAMINATED COUNTRIES AT RISK OF EBOLA OUTBREAK

By FRANCES MARTEL.

The largest Ebola outbreak in history, spanning five west African countries, continues to spread and threatens to engulf the infrastructures of multiple nations. The situation could get worse for the continent, according to one Oxford University study that finds animals carrying the virus are being eaten in at least 15 different countries at risk for an outbreak.

The Washington Post distills the results of the study, which focused on the migration and living habits of fruit bats, considered among the most dangerous carriers of Ebola. Fruit bats can transfer the Ebola virus to other animals like monkeys and rodents, all of which are often consumed in African countries as “bush meat,” a valuable source of protein in regions where the nutrient is difficult to come by.

Judging by the animal populations, researcher Nick Golding explains that the “likely ‘reservoir’ of Ebola virus in animal populations” and where humans come into contact with them paints a troubling picture. That reservoir of Ebola, waiting to be tapped by a hunter catching a contaminated animal and eating it undercooked, is “larger than has been previously appreciated,” according to Golding.

And that reservoir affects up to 22 countries, including those currently battling the virus: Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Nigeria, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. All cases in West Africa can be traced back to one patient, a child in rural Guinea. The cases in the Democratic Republic of Congo are believed to be a second outbreak triggered by a different instance of humans eating bush meat; the current death toll there stands at 35, significantly less than the 2,288 killed in West Africa.

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Photo Credit: Natural NewsBy J. D. Heyes.

Increasingly, as the Ebola virus continues to spread and kill, authorities in Africa are becoming more authoritarian in their attempts to contain the deadly disease — steps that look eerily similar to those imposed on Americans in the days following the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing and which could be imposed again were Ebola to make it to the U.S.

In Sierra Leone, authorities recently ordered people to remain inside their homes for three days later this month, ostensibly in a bid to shut down the spread of the virus, which has now killed nearly 2,300 people all across West Africa.

Abdulai Bayratay, a government spokesman, told The Associated Press that the government is ordering people to remain inside their houses on Sept. 19, 20 and 21. Those dates were chosen to allow people time to get what they needed — food, medicines and other provisions — ahead of the government’s movement ban.

“This will be strictly adhered to without exception,” he told Agence France-Presse (AFP) in a telephone interview. “We intend to ensure that the dreaded disease is checked.”

‘Movement ban’ could be extended longer than three days

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Photo Credit: Natural NewsNumber of Ebola cases is ‘increasing exponentially,’ World Health Organization warns

By Ethan A. Huff.

The Ebola crisis has taken a major turn for the worse as the World Health Organization (WHO) announces that the number of infected individuals is now “increasing exponentially.” The uptick is particularly concerning in Liberia, where the international agency says the worst is yet to come.

Among the 4,269 known cases of Ebola in West Africa, nearly 2,300, a little over half, have resulted in death. And roughly half of these deaths have occurred in Liberia, according to the United Nations, with the rest reportedly hailing from nearby Sierra Leone, Guinea and Nigeria.

In a recent announcement, WHO warned that the numbers appear to show an exponential increase in infections across West Africa, and that things will get worse before getting better. Underscoring the unusual spread of the disease, experts say Ebola is particularly problematic in the larger cities, and especially in those where public health facilities are lacking.

But the situation is most extreme in Liberia, where entire communities are facing rapid infection due to poor containment measures and a lack of medical personnel. According to data compiled by WHO, some 152 healthcare workers in Liberia are known to have contracted Ebola, and 79 of them have already died.

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Photo Credit: CELLOU BINANI / AFP / GettyDespite knowing that he had symptoms of the Ebola virus, a Nigerian diplomat boards a plane in Liberia and flies from that small country to his nation’s capital city of Lagos, a city with 21 million people. The man was fleeing a quarantine meant to contain the Ebola virus. Instead, his body — now a host for the disease — was transporting the highly contagious and deadly, single-strand virus to Nigeria’s largest city. . .

The Nigerian doctor who visited the diplomat in his hotel room and became infected with Ebola also saw hundreds of patients — operating on at least two of them before he ultimately passed away from the disease. . .

With the possibility of the Ebola outbreak widening in the region and eventually spanning the globe, this writer reached out to Board Certified Internal Medicine specialist Dr. Jorge Rodriguez for more information. . .

In the brief discussion about the mysterious disease, Rodriguez shared some startling information, including, ”This thing is a lot more contagious than we’re being given . . . or we’re being told about.”

“What scares me the most . . . doctors and nurses are the ones getting this, dying from it and transmitting it,” Rodriguez added. “So, I think there’s a lot more about Ebola and how it’s transmitted that we don’t know . . . The head of the CDC said, ‘It’s much worse than what’s being reported . . . I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s double or triple what we’re told.”

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Photo Credit: Newscom By Josh Siegel.

Dr. Kent Brantly, the American doctor infected with Ebola while working in West Africa, only saw Tim Mosher’s eyes.

As part of his mission in Liberia with the nonprofit aid group Samaritan’s Purse, Mosher treated Brantly, a colleague whom he had never formally met but whose life he was now helping save.

With six or so other aid workers, Mosher stayed at Brantly’s bedside and intravenously delivered him ZMapp, an experimental medicine that had never before been tested on humans.

“I thought he might die that night,” recalled Mosher, who was wearing a full-body suit, face mask, two pairs of gloves and goggles—only his eyes visible—to avoid contracting the illness that struck Brantly, a doctor with Samaritan’s Purse.

After spending 21 days in quarantine upon returning from Africa, Mosher spoke with The Daily Signal about his unplanned contact with Brantly, who ultimately survived Ebola after finishing his treatment in the United States.

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Photo Credit: Fox News Could the blood of Ebola survivors help patients?

By Associated Press.

As West Africa struggles to contain the biggest ever outbreak of Ebola, some experts say an unusual but simple treatment might help: the blood of survivors.

The evidence is mixed for using infection-fighting antibodies from survivors’ blood for Ebola, but without any licensed drugs or vaccines for the deadly disease, some say it’s worth a shot.

“This is something that’s fairly simple to do,” said Dr. Peter Piot, director of London’s School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the co-discoverer of the Ebola virus.

Using blood of survivors is one of the experimental Ebola treatments under discussion at a two-day meeting that began Thursday in Geneva. The more than 200 experts assembled by the World Health Organization are looking at issues of safety and effectiveness and considering which treatments should be prioritized for testing during the current outbreak.

There are about a half dozen medicines and vaccines in development. None has been rigorously tested in humans but early testing of one vaccine began this week in the United States.

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